#rotbfd

The brunet yelped in surprise, nearly losing his charcoal pencil. “Oh, hey Astrid. Dad asked me to write up Berk’s history for the archives.”

“Oh yeah, some of the old scrolls were lost in the flood last month.” The blonde warrior hopped over the boulder to sit next to her best friend. “I take it you’re having a hiccup?”

Hiccup glared at her as she grinned. “Ha ha. You’re hilarious.”

“I know.” Astrid looked down at the parchment and raised an eyebrow at all the scratched out sentences. “Wow, you really are stuck.”

“It’s hard not to be when our village is horrendously boring,” Hiccup grumbled.

Astrid looked out at where the sun was starting to sink toward the sea’s surface. “...We have a great view of the sunset.”

He snorted a bit. “The sea on one side, mountains on the other, backed by forests, and one way in by land.” He sighed and leaned back against the rock. “I feel restless, Astrid. Almost like there’s an itch that I just can’t scratch.”

The blonde nodded, scratching at her arm. “I feel the same way. It’s like the village is too...too…”

“Small,” Hiccup finished. “Like we don’t fit in this place anymore.”

Astrid was quiet for a few moments. “...We should leave. For a little while, at least.”

“What?”

“We get the others together and we just...leave. Maybe head over the mountains to Burgess, or--oh! What if we went to Corona, or Arendelle or even the Republic of Elements?”

Hiccup quickly shook his head. “You know it’s forbidden for anyone to leave Gardia’s borders, unless you’re given special permission.”

Astrid scoffed. “Who cares? Hell, we could even just sneak through the mountains and into the Mathan Forest!”

“Need I remind you that not only is the forest protected by magic but is so dense that not even the king could find the elves? And there’s also a good reason why the mountains are called the Bones of Despair,” Hiccup started. He was looking more and more worried over what his best friend was proposing. “It’s one thing to travel around the country, it’s another to leave and commit treason!”

Astrid groaned and stood up, beginning to pace in front of Hiccup. “I don’t care! Don’t you feel it, Hic?”

“Feel what?”

“Something’s coming! A huge storm is about to strike Gardia. The tyrant’s rule is going to end, and what’ll we be doing? Sitting around here with our sheep and going fishing? Or are we going to actually do something? We can be free of the Fearlings and the Nightmare King!”

Hiccup scrambled to his feet and grabbed Astrid to look her in the eye. As he had feared, her pupils were blown to the point that there was a tiny ring of silvery blue around the black. “Astrid, breathe. Easy.” He rubbed her shoulders and helped her calm her breathing. “Another vision?”

She nodded. “Rillia said I'm definitely getting visions. I can’t read signs like her, but I do still have some Sight.” She managed a slightly shaky laugh. “I guess that’s what happens when our grandmother was a fortune teller.”

Hiccup relaxed when he saw her pupils start to shrink. “Isn't this the third one?”

“Yeah…” She shuddered. “I saw armies, Hiccup. A great alliance of nations, a fierce battle in a dry plain. Fearlings, monstrous creations of the king. And…” Her face paled slightly. “Dragon riders...flying with dragon people.”

Hiccup’s eyes went wide. “The shifters? They’re still alive?”

“I don’t know who they are, but there weren’t many. There were more Riders, almost as many as our villagers, and tons of dragons with them,” Astrid further explained. “And at the head of these armies, the leadder was a Shifter who rode a Night Fury. I only saw his back, but...he spoke Drakontongue, Hic.”

The brunet’s hand drifted to his own throat. “...Astrid, what are you saying?”

Her pupils were back to normal as she looked him dead in the eye. “That I think we’re going to be move involved in this than we could ever imagine.”

Hiccup opened his mouth to speak when the sudden unmistakable scent of electricity struck his nose. Instinctively he grabbed Astrid and pulled her out of the way right as what seemed to be a bright red bolt of lightning struck where they had been standing. “Oh my gods! Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, are you?” They both physically checked each other over before looking at the strike site. That wasn’t normal.”

Hiccup shook his head. “That was magic.” He went to check the crater and blinked. “Is that...a bag?”

Astrid jumped over the edge of the crater and immediately checked it out. “It must’ve been a teleportation spell,” she called up. Bag in hand she climbed out. Upon opening the bag her eyes widened. “Whoa.” Her hand pulled out of the bag to reveal a large gem the width of her palm and a little longer than her hand. It was a light blue with veins of pale gold running throughout the gem. “There’s more in here!”

Hiccup pulled one out. “Are there any black gems around here?” The jewel in his hand was blackest ebony, with gleaming purple veins.

“All I can think of is the volcanic rock the traders bring,” Astrid said, her fingers tracing the delicate lines.

“Hey! You guys okay?”

The two looked up in surprise as their friends ran up the hill. “We’re fine. What’re you doing here? Hiccup asked. The hill was far enough away from the village that they were out of sight, but close enough that it was a half-hour walk to and from the dwellings.”

“We were looking for you,” Fishlegs explained, catching his breath. “The monthly meeting’s going to start soon.”

The twins were looking down into the crater. “Whoa,” Tuffnut said. “What happened here? It looks weird.”

Ruffnut took a quick sniff. “I smell magic.”

“It was a teleportation spell,” Hiccup explained, trying to ignore Snotlout’s giddy exclamation as he took a jewel. “We don’t know what these are, though.”

Snotlout took out his dagger and hit the ruby-like gem in his hand. A beautiful bell-like tone rang out from the hit. “Hey, they’re hollow!”

Unable to contain his own curiosity, Fishlegs pulled out a deep brown gem to examine it. “They’re unlike anything the traders have brought to us over the years. I’ve never heard of brown gemstones. They’ve also been shaped, they’re perfectly smooth. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were shaped by magic.”

Ruffnut held the fifth one to the light, a pale green mottled with yellow. “So what do we do with them?”

“I say keep them!” Snotlout declared. “Think of what we could get for these when the traders come through town!”

“What, no!” Astrid gave Snotlout an incredulous look, adding, “We should give them to the chief. We don’t know what they are.”

“But they’re so cool!” Tuffnut added. “They’re like pretty rocks we can throw at each other!”

Fishlegs chimed in. “I think Astrid’s right. Chief Stoick would know what to do. Besides, what if they’re really dangerous?”

“But think of how much they could be worth!”

“And they’re so pretty!”

“We don’t know where they came from though! Someone went through a lot of trouble to send them to practically the middle of nowhere. What if they’re stolen?”

“So we sell them and some other poor sap has to deal with it!”

Astrid threw her hands up with a growl. “You are so thickheaded! Let’s hear what Hiccup has to say. Hiccup?”

The unofficial leader of the group was staring at the jewel in his hand, head tilted as if he was listening to something. “...Hm? Sorry?”

“Do we keep the rocks, or give them to Stoick.”

Hiccup distractedly traced an amethyst vein. “...We should keep them. Don’t try to use them for trade though.”

“Aw, man! Come on, Hiccup, we could be richer than--” Snotlout was cut off as a strange crooning growl came from his cousin. “Okay, what was up with that?”

The brunet looked up at everyone. “I can hear little movements and sounds from them.”

The implications slowly sunk in, and when it did everyone blanched. “Hiccup...dragon eggs are illegal in Gardia,” Fishlegs said cautiously. “The only dragon allowed is the King’s.”

Hiccup suddenly held the egg tight to his chest. “I’m not giving them up. They’ve been in the shells for so long.”

“Hiccup, if they haven’t hatched yet then these are eggs from when the king took over and destroyed the Riders!” Astrid exclaimed. “He must have kept these to make his own.”

“I’m not letting him take them back! He’ll ruin them!”

His declaration, so fierce compared to his usual easygoing nature, startled the others into a momentary silence. “So…” Fishlegs fiddled with his egg. “What do we do?”

The group was silent for a few moments before Tuffnut broke it. “What about the Mathan Forest? Isn’t that where the elves are?”

“Hang on,” Snotlout said. “You want us to find the elves? Something not even the king could do on his huge dragon Fearling?”

Hiccup shook his head. “Too risky. We’d die before we ever found them.”

Astrid worried at her lip. “...The Guardians are our only chance.”

“The rebels?” Ruffnut raised an eyebrow. “We don’t even know where they are.”

Hiccup suddenly grinned. “We don’t. But I’m sure Trader Johann or one of the other traders has some idea on where we can find them. If we can keep these eggs hidden for the next few months until the traders come, I’m sure we can find someone who knows how to contact them.

Fishlegs fidgeted more. “So...you want us to find the rebels and give them the eggs?”

“There’s that…” Hiccup’s smile grew draconian. “Or we could join them.”

Astrid’s grin matched his. “Now that’s what I wanted to hear.”

Fishlegs still didn’t look keen on the idea. ‘I don’t know…”

“Oh come on, Fishlegs!” Snotlout slapped a hand on the larger boy’s shoulder. “Think of the adventure! The excitement!”

“The maiming!” Tuffnut added.

“Don’t forget scarring,” Ruffnut snickered.

Fishlegs stared at the twins. “That’s not helpful.”

Astrid gave Fishlegs’ shoulder a pat. “Come on, Fishlegs. If we’re going to do this, we need you. Other than Hiccup, you know the most about dragons and the world outside our village. Don’t quit on us.”

Fishlegs ruminated for a bit before his shoulders slumped. “Oh, alright.”

Hiccup clapped his hands together with an approving smile. “It’s settled then. When the traders come in a few months, we’ll find a way to the Guardians. For now, we’ll hold onto the eggs.”

“Do you know what type of dragons they are?”

Hiccup shook his head. “Not type, but I can guess at their genders judging by their sounds. I think Astrid’s and...Fishlegs’ are females. Mine and Snotlout’s are males, and I have no idea on the twins’.”

“Oh!” Ruffnut pulled out two more eggs. “We missed two. Claim one!”

“I call the other one!” Tuffnut grabbed the bright orange egg, while Ruffnut kept the turquoise one.

“Okay, so we better get going back to the village,” Fishlegs commented as he looked up at the sun’s position. “The meeting’s going to start soon.”

“Oh man, don’t need the chief mad at us. Again. Hiccup.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault we got stuck in a roc’s nest. Snotlout.”