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DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk

Scauldron's Cove

Chapter 9

The teens and Stoick sat in the Academy, standing beside their dragons. They had just come back from another unsuccessful trip which began the slow transition to the unwelcome reality. After days of searching, restless hoping, they all could help but face it, face that the twins and Hiccup might not be coming back.

Astrid's immediately thought was with Hiccup and Toothless, just before Hiccup and them left to find the twins, he told Toothless that he'd be back.

A tear fell at the thought and Astrid quickly brushed it away, her viking upbringing claiming it to be a bad reputation with crying. However, Hiccup would say otherwise. He always talked like he was a viking, or at least tried to be one, but everyone knew he wasn't, and eventually he found that out as well; inviting it in with welcomed arms.

The second thought caused another tear to fall and she silently growled at her weakness. Not wanting to look up at someone else, she pondered in her mind if she was the only one crying. However, no matter how much she fought the possible discovery, she glanced up, but only for a second. Within that second, she saw Snotlout having those "dust" particles in his eyes, and Fishlegs face was hidden from view as his back was facing her. She didn't want to know how Stoick looked right now, or Gobber.

Despite what they've been taught as vikings, they all couldn't stop the tears from trickling down. And they didn't care anymore because they knew it was okay to cry, to mourn.

A sound emitted down from the sky, their heads lifting up towards it as soon as it hit their ears. The object in question, they knew what, or who, it was for it was a Night Fury call. But what shocked them was the fact that Toothless was flying. Each and every one of their breaths stopped and their lungs filled as the connection between the two clicked; smiles blossomed on their lips.

"Hiccup!" Stoick shouted as he eagerly waited for Toothless to land and the teens jump off. As soon as they did, Stoick rushed over, hauling his son up into the sky before catching him and bringing the boy into a warm and loving hug. Gobber came over, smile abroad, laying a hand on Stoick's shoulder as for the time being Hiccup was the chief's.

Stoick held onto his son, continuing to hug him with his eyes closed; Hiccup's arms wrapped around his father's neck as his eyes too were closed. After their long embrace, Stoick put Hiccup down on his feet, keeping his hands on his son's shoulders as he looked into his eyes. Hiccup tilted his head,

"Dad, are you crying?" He asked, seeing redness around his father's eyes and a few tears falling down from them. Stoick whipped them away,

"No… it's… quite dusty in here, son. I think you might want to clean the Academy." Stoick replied, ignoring the fact that Hiccup knew better.

"See," Snotlout added, "that's exactly what I was saying before."

At this time, now that Hiccup was free, Astrid came over to him and wrapped him up in her own embrace.

Ruff and Tuff walked past the group, "Yeah, we're fine too, nothing happened." Tuffnut retorted. Astrid released her hold on Hiccup and faced all three of them.

"Where were you guys? What happened?"

"Oh you know, got trapped in an underwater cave," Tuff began.

"Got chased by Scauldrons," Ruff added.

"Finally got out only to stumble upon a hideous beast,"

"Which captured us and brought us to its evil lair,"

"From which we were able to escape all thanks to Toothless." Tuff finished. Toothless cooed at them, Hiccup leaning down and hugging his head; Toothless leaned in and closed his eyes.

From this action, Astrid noticed a small red dot on Hiccup's neck; the skin around the area seemingly swollen.

"Hiccup…" she whispered as her hand reached out. Hiccup saw what she was looking at and brought his hands up to the tiny puncture holes. Stoick knelt down and studied the area as well, looking at his son with absolute concern.

Hiccup looked at them, his eyes bouncing from the ground to their eyes; shame and fear evident on his features.

"It's a long story."

Deep within the burrows of a dark and damp cave laid the creature, the exiled dragon. The thing lay curled up, resting and healing from the fight it experienced with the Night Fury. Its kind had no trouble defending its territory, or its food, from any other dragons, but the Night Fury proved to be at equal ends.

As its head lifted up, its black eyes glanced out towards the exit tunnel; its stomach empty, its throat dry. Its nutrient, its food, such a delicacy… if it focused, it could hear the heartbeat of the boy. But if it was one thing its kind were known for, besides their incredible hearing, besides their speed, besides their thirst for blood; it was their persistence.

If a Banshee found thee type of blood, that blood was theirs.

A.N.

Alright, unfortunately this was the last chapter, but the next story is its continuation. It should be posted soon, within this week hopefully. Because of change in plans on my Thanksgiving break, I'll be able to post chapters during that time, so no waits for the new story.

To treat you guys and get you all worked up for the next story, I'm posting a small sneak peek at the bottom of the page. Thank you all for everything!

A Banished Beast

Sneak Peek—Preview

The leaves fell from the tree branches, one by one piling up on the forest's floor. One boot and one metal leg shared a rhythmic pattern across the ground, each allowing the other to pass and let pass. The movement was slow, lifeless, controlled even; hypnotized as a servant. The body and mind had no choice but to approach the beast ahead. No fight had occurred because all will had been destroyed.

The beast waited diligently for the boy's arrival, watching his every step as he came closer to his grasp. The wind began to pick up, pushing the young viking closer to the demon dragon before the beast itself began to reach out, the two tentacles on its neck extending toward the boy. Invisible forces pulled him in and the two needle-like tentacles inched their way to his neck, each taking a side, before diving into the flesh.

A sharp pain pricked the boy's body, his eyes closed tight as he winced from the piercing. A small cry escaped his slightly trembling lips, wanting nothing more than to escape the beasts' clutches. He felt himself began to drain away, each part of his body shutting down and dying on him. As his breath began to hitch…