Learning from the Masters CH2

A How To Train Your Dragon Fanfiction
Based of Le'Letha's "Nightfall"







It has been many days and nights that some of Hiccup and Toothless' nest-mates have gone missing where no one has seen.

Sometimes dragons left the nest and didn't return because they did not wish to, but most of the time, it was because they were old and tired or sick bad sick and soon to die and did not want death to snap its jaws on its other nest-mates.

Other times they did not mean to stay away but something hunted them and won, but such a thing was rare unless it was an enemy dragon that was strong and wouldn't settle for peace.

And then there were pfikingr humans who hunted and trapped their kind. Traps were nothing new to the dragons. Pfikingr and dragons had been enemies forever, and the dragon pair had been freeing their nest-mates from them with Hiccup's skilled paws as long as both could remember. Many times they disabled traps before most could even be sprung, the other dragons finding and telling them where to go when they spotted nasty traps that wanted to bite or snare or tangle.

The strange disappearances were making many dragons worried and scared. None of the dragons that had gone missing were old or sick bad sick. Most were young and strong and some even had hatchlings to watch.

Some dragons had reported traps, but they could not find their lost nest-mates, not even a lingering scent near any of the traps, and in some places, even human stink was stale and almost non-existent, like they had forgotten their traps and the dragons they had meant to catch.

Already the morning and noon had been spent with many dragons searching as they hunted and patrolled their nest-territory. Hiccup and Toothless had wanted to search as well, worried for their lost friends, but Cloudjumper was wary to let them leave far without knowing what was making their nest-mates vanish, only to check that there were no dangers close to the nest.

Once they had assured that nothing threatened to come inside, they'd busied themselves with hearing other dragons report nothing unusual, and then try to console a nest of hatchlings that chirped and wailed for their parents. They were not among the hatchlings whose mother or father had not come back, but even they were knowing of what was happening and frightened for any length of time they were left alone while the pair hunted.

Dragons didn't normally leave hatchlings all alone. It was unnatural. One of the pair always stayed while the other hunted, but many pairs recently were unsettled and not sure to go alone, especially if they had to fight off whatever bad thing wanted to take dragons away. Most left now in small crowds until they were sure they were safe, but every so often a pair would leave together.

Safe safe no sad back soon no scared safe no sad soon back you see, Hiccup crooned as the hatchlings crowded around him chattering their unrest and need for their parents, needing something to cling to – which just so happened to be him and Toothless.

He continued to warble little comforts and reassurances to the little ones who would not be comforted until their mother returned.

After a time, a recognizable screech of alarm made the two and many other dragons look up as one of the pair returned in a flurry of wings. The hatchlings instantly forgot Hiccup and Toothless to crowd around him as he landed, looking tired as though he had flown a long way too fast, bristling.

They had been able to tell already when he had entered without his mate that something wasn't right.

Where mate where go mate gone where bad gone where?

Human! the dragon hissed, who they knew as Sharksnatcher. Bad human bad chase trap take gone trap Skydropper gone bad human chase trap take gone!

Hiccup was already on Toothless' back and the fly-with by the time Snarksnatcher had finished chattering. Pfikingr were something they could easily handle and they were not going to let another one of their nest-mates be taken and hurt and killed and another flock of hatchlings to lose their mother.

Where go we fly we find Skydropper we go where go bad human where?

Sharksnatcher took to the air and they followed, though Sharksnatcher was tired and slow from already flying so far and so fast but they could not find the pfikingr and Skydropper without so they had to go only as fast as Sharksnatcher could.

They soared over waves and past sea fangs of stone and small islands with prey-things and other dragons even after the sun went down. Sharksnatcher finally set down on the shore of a forested island to rest his wings, and seemed nervous to continue on the ground into the forest.

Why no go scared why bad human there not go bad danger ahead?

Sharksnatcher bristled uncertainly and eyed the woods with caution, chattering nervously.

Bad danger bad human fast danger prey-no-prey-things hunt fast chase confused scared fast uncertain chase trap bad human fly-with preynoprey-things chase hunt danger fly safe ground no safe danger.

Hiccup and Toothless exchanged a look with each other and couldn't help but share Sharksnatcher's nervousness at such a strange idea.

A prey-thing that hunted dragons? Pfikingr that ran with hunting preynoprey-things on a fly-with? They had never heard of such a ridiculous notion! It simply couldn't be. Pfikingr were slow and stupid and weak and couldn't chase dragons because dragons are fast and clever and strong and could fly and breath flames as well as run. That's why pfikingr needed slow, hidden traps and to be sneaky to catch them with things that bit and tangled and wouldn't let go, and why they had to make sharp fang-things out of metals that they weren't born with like powerful and mighty dragons with fangs and claws.

It was night, though, and pfikingr and even most other dragons were bad at seeing in the dark, and the forest was very dark, and Hiccup and Toothless were both very good at seeing even when others couldn't so they were not so worried about preynoprey-things that chased or pfikingr that ran with them on a fly-thing and they still had their wings if either of them tried to chase and kill them and fire to fight with and they were both very fast on the ground and even faster in the sky.

Safe go we go fly if danger find Skydropper we go find her careful quiet safe, the dragon-boy and companion agreed. Sharksnatcher was not so ready to agree but crept into the cover of the trees with reluctance, leading the way.

Many small prey-things rattled in the woods or the trees, scared by the prowling dragons, but no hunting preynoprey-things or pfikingr to worry about as they had first feared. Even their scent was gone and old and washed away, reassuring them that there was not something to fear in the trees.

The forest became bare rock that stretched above with a narrow path between that was small enough for a dragon to walk with wings in but not fly through well.

Sharksnatcher refused to walk through, wings rested enough now to take to the air, and they soared over it. The path in the rocks cut deep and long, making a path, like trails made by wood-bugs that made their nests in dead trees and ate tunnels all through it.

Here here mate trap chase here, Sharksnatcher crowed, landing on a ledge above the ravine, the two young dragons landing next to him and peering down into the dim light. Gone Skydropper gone sad hurt lonely sad gone where gone?

They settled down and watched to see if any preynoprey-things or pfikingr came through, wary of a trap, but the night was silent and still.

Curious wary trap maybe wary alert trap question go no go? they warbled uncertainly, before starting a slow, cautious crawl over the edge and hovered down to the ground. They listened and watched for danger but nothing moved or made noise other than Sharksnatcher chattering nervous careful careful wary trap maybe yes trap careful and neither felt as though something watched and hunted, so they cautiously moved forward.

There were no traps that they could see or smell or hear, but they could smell the stink of humans and something else they had never smelled before that was probably the preynoprey-things that they had been warned about and strange paw-prints and long marks like something small but heavy dragged to make tracks and faint scent of dragon nest-kin.

Follow we hunt follow you watch warn danger warn watch we follow hunt find pfikingr preynoprey-thing, they called softly to Sharksnatcher as they began tracking the trail from the ground cautiously, careful not to make noise and silencing their chatter to hunt.

Yes yes watch warn danger watch yes careful alert watch wary, Sharksnatcher agreed, keeping an eye on the two and following from above, keeping vigil to warn them of danger they might not see.

The tracks and scent continued for some time and grew stronger in human and preynoprey-thing scent as they went, both dragons becoming more wary of their surroundings as they went.

What it led to was the large, open mouth of a cave where a glow flickered from inside. They knew without getting closer that it was the light of fires but mingling with the scent of smoke and flame was also the rancid stink of humans.

Without sound, both had already decided to fly above the stone and look for another way in where they might not be seen.

Toothless spotted what looked to be a promising entrance and dove in, Hiccup trusting his judgment without question. It was a suitable perch, landing carefully in near perfect silence and crawling forward onto a perfect, hidden overhang where they could see everything.

The pfikingr had made the cave into a nest for their small flock, having set up many of their strange things around a large fire while some made loud noises and ran and pounced around each other in a crazy raucous and others sat on long things made of wood and metal and some of them holding strange pfikingr foods that he recognized because he sometimes stole them to taste in the past.

There were also strange things he and his other self had never seen before. Tall, short-furred prey-things with long fur on their butts and hanging in their eyes and down their neck. They were big creatures, at least about as big as his own Toothless-beloved but without wings or a long tail. How did such a creature stay balanced with no wings or tails? It must be just as clumsy of a beast as the pfikingr were. Surely such a creature couldn't chase or hunt a dragon!

Some of the strange preynoprey-thing's seemed to hear or smell their presence and Tt-(click)-th-puh-ss both became tense as the creatures shifted and angled their ears and flared their nose and looked for their hiding place before a pfikingr distracted and touched them and let the two-who-are-one relax again.

He saw the flying-with things that Sharksnatcher had warned of somewhere to the side of the cave-nest, but none on the strange preynoprey's, and larger than the one he put on Toothless-love.

As they continued to look, though, they could see none of their kin. There were big pfikingr things to the side where it grew somewhat dark though, looking somewhat like cages that some trappers used to keep live dragons they caught and stop them from getting away or fighting.

There dragons there maybe yes flock there maybe could be? They wondered quietly. If they were traps keeping members of his flock trapped than he could make easy work to free them, but they couldn't be sure. There weren't many pfikingr if it came to a fight. Concepts like counting and numbers weren't a concept for either to care about, but there were only twenty of them or so to account for had he had the concept of counting, and even less of the preynoprey-things, not many at all.

His trapped nest-mates that he was sure were kept alive though might be in danger if they rushed in too blindly, because pfikingr were bad and wanted dragons dead and would hurt or kill his kin or him and his Toothless-self without caring for their pain if they were made angry and he did not know where his nest-mates were or if they'd find them or if they were still alive or if traps waited for them to come so they could snare them.

Pfikingr were sneaky creatures with their traps but Tt-(click)-th-puh-ss could be sneaky and patient too and if they waited maybe the pfikingr got tired and had to sleep like dragons did and if they did then they could sneak by and free their nest-mates and maybe catch the bad pfikingr and the preynoprey-things by surprise like the good great sneaky hunters that they were.

So they settled down and they waited and when the pfikingr were sleepy and unaware they'd pounce and catch them and free their friends from the bad pfikinger traps.