"Got'cha!" Snotlout jumped out of nowhere and grabbed my hand.

"Ow!" I yelped, jerking back. I clutched my sore hand.

"Sorry." Snotlout's face darkened when he saw the red, puffy burn. "What happened?"

"Just an accident." I ducked my head, not telling him about my account with the Monstrous Nightmare on dragon island.

I had taken the bandage off. Whether I left it on or not, people would notice.

"Yeah, but what happened?" Snotlout stepped closer, reaching for my red hand. I pulled it back.

"It's nothing, really." I hid it behind my back.

"I know a burn when I see one." His eyes pooled with worry.

"Of course." I grumbled.

You can't hide anything from a dragon rider.

"So how did you get burned?"

"It happened on dragon island when I was looking for my dragon." I told him. "But I don't really want to talk about it.

"Fine by me." He offered a sympathetic smile. "You wanna go for a flight?"

I opened my mouth, about to give him the 'I'm busy' excuse again. But nobody was in sight and I had nothing to do. Hiccup and Astrid were busy. Personally I thought Stoick was just keeping them away from me.

A sigh escaped me. "Sure. A flight would be nice."

Snotlout lit up. "Awesome!" he cheered, gesturing for Hookfang to walk over. He let me on first then climbed up in front.

"Come on Hookfang!" He shouted as he leaned over the dragon's head. Then we were air-born.

The clouds were around us. When I was up here nothing, even the unromantic feeling around Snotlout, could suck the joy out of flying. At least I hadn't found it yet.

With extreme longing, I thought of getting my own dragon.

"How did you find Hookfang?" I asked, leaning my chin on Snotlout's shoulder.

"Well," Snotlout seemed to think his answer over. "Berk wasn't always friends with the dragons. Hookfang was kept in the training ring--you know, the Academy--and he was for the most skilled in class to... um..."

My eyes widened. "Kill?"

"Yeah." Snotlout ducked his gaze.

"So how did you train him?"

"Hiccup met Toothless. One day Stoick was leading the whole tribe into danger and had Toothless with him. So Hiccup had all of us train our own dragon from the ring and we flew off to save the day."

My mouth hung open. Hiccup had never told me this story. I had no clue he was THAT brave!

"How dangerous was it?"

"REALLY dangerous!" Snotlout smiled, getting into the story telling roll. "We had to fight a dragon as big as a mountain. With six eyes, unlimited fire, and a desperate urge to kill!"

"You survived?!" My eyes stretched wider.

"Hiccup almost didn't. That was the day he lost his leg."

"Tell me more!" I begged, hugging his shoulders.

"He went up alone." Snotlout continued. "Everyone else was on the ground now. Hiccup was in the clouds and we couldn't see him. There was only the screams from Toothless and the flashes of plasma. At one point the whole sky lit up with fire and things went quiet. Then the Red Death--that's the giant dragon--came down chasing Hiccup. It's wings were full of holes and it crashed in the biggest explosion anyone has ever seen. Hiccup didn't come out."

"What happened then?" My heart was racing. Why hadn't Hiccup told me this?

"When the fire cleared, Stoick found Toothless still alive but Hiccup was nowhere to be seen. We all thought he was dead. Though I didn't cry, mind you. Astrid and the others did.

"Finally Toothless lifted up his wings. He had kept Hiccup safe from the fire the whole time. Hiccup was burned, unconscious, and without a foot, but he lived." Snotlout shrugged, done telling the story.

"That's the most amazing thing I ever heard! WHy did I never hear it before?"

"Everyone's heard it by now. Every tribe, the whole village... Hiccup doesn't take much pride in it, though."

"I would!" I exclaimed. "There's no way I would let my foot go and not get some praise out of it."

Snotlout frowned down at the ocean.

"I mean, anyone who did something like that deserves--"

"Look."

I looked where Snotlout was pointing. Down on the sea below, was some ship debris. And perched on the debris were two men.

"Let's go help!" I said. Snotlout put Hookfang into a dive and we flew in toward the stranded Vikings.

I could remember when that was me. On a raft at sea with no sign of land. I had been hungry and thirsty and terribly emotional in my wet clothing.

As we came closer, I could see them pointing at us and hear their shouts.

"It's a dragon!" The shorter one of them wailed.

"Calm down!" Ordered the taller man. "I'll protect us."

"We're going to die! We'll never make it! We'll never find--!"

The taller man slapped the guy's panicked face. "Shut up." Then he turned to Hookfang. "Get away dragon, if ya know what's good for ye!"

Snotlout brought Hookfang to a halt. The tall man's eyes widened.

"You're ridin' it!" He gasped.

"What does it look like?" Snotlout called down.

"What in Thor's name--!" He exclaimed. "How are ye doin' tha'?"

"Do you need help?" I called down.

"An' a lady, too! Thor's trousers, what in the archipelago--!"

"If you don't need help," Snotlout yelled down. "We can leave if you want."

"No!" wailed the shorter man. "Save us save us save us save us!"

"Alright!"

The two men screamed as Hookfang dove down and snatched them both in his great black talons. We headed back to Berk, both of them screaming even as land came in sight.

"Would you SHUT UP ALREADY?!" Snotlout barked. They shut up. But the shorter guy still whimpered.

Over Berk, Hookfang released his catches. They hit the ground with a loud "Umph!" and we landed beside them.

Astrid ran up to us as the two men looked around them at the dragons warily.

"Who are they?" Astrid demanded. The short guy, who I now noticed was much younger than his friend, eyed the bright axe in her hand.

"Eh, two shipwrecked dudes from sea. Who would'a thought in two weeks we'd get more visitors." Snotlout shrugged before smiling at me. "Where's Hiccup?"

"Still out with Stoick. The twins lost Sven's prize sheep."

"Where do we put them until he gets here?"

"Um..." Astrid eyed the two visitors uncertainly. The older, taller man looked right back at her but the younger guy was still shaking in his wet boots. It made me chuckle.

"Are you cold?" I smiled at him. He wasn't much older than me and the others.

"N-no no." He stammered.

"I'm back Astrid." Hiccup said as he walked up with Toothless at his side, Stoick not far behind him. Chief and heir's brows furrowed at the sight of the two men.

"Who are they?" Hiccup asked.

"We," The taller man stepped forward. "Are the Skellington brothers."