Author's Note:

Hello everyone and welcome once again. This chapter follows on from the events of the last and starts to set up more aspects of the story. It looks at several different characters and the movements behind the scenes. Thank you those who've continued to support this story, despite the long gaps between updates, and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

I own nothing.

Chapter 24

Snotlout sat by his friend, well into the depths of the night.

Queen Mala and Valka had worked tirelessly for hours upon Hookfang, trying to work out exactly what had been ingested by the dragon. They hadn't come any closer to an answer, but the effects of whatever it was had started to wear out on their own, indicating them to be only temporary. However, both women wanted the Nightmare to rest as much as possible and had had him moved to the main stables where they could keep a close eye on him, in case of any sudden developments.

Snotlout had immediately proclaimed his desire to stay in the stables with his friend and no one even bothered to try and talk him out of it (they all knew he'd just ignore them if they'd tried) and he sat by Hookfang's side all night, keeping careful watch for any changes that could happen.

Focused as he was on the Nightmare, he didn't notice Skullcrusher lingering nearby, keeping watch himself. Eventually, when exhaustion finally overpowered the teen's will to stay awake and draw him into slumber, the Rumblehorn came over and curled around the boy as best he could, maintaining vigil for him.

Hiccup rubbed his eyes tiredly, groaning slightly.

Across the table he sat at, Astrid glanced up at him, "Maybe its time to call it a night now."

He groaned again, "Maybe." He sighed, "I just don't like the idea of resting when what happened today is still unresolved."

"I know dear." She responded, "That's what makes you a great leader, but you won't get any further by running yourself into the ground."

Fishlegs was also present, and he drummed his fingers on the table, "The problem is that we can't really respond to it the way we want to, I mean, we can all probably guess who's responsible."

"Spinelout." Astrid supplied.

The man nodded, "Yes, I mean, its not exactly hard to narrow down the list of suspects, the problem is, we have no proof that he did it. He certainly wasn't spotted acting suspiciously, and he likely has any number of excuses ready to defend himself. At the moment, all we have are our own suspicions."

Hiccup sighed, "I don't like this, harming Hookfang is bad enough but I'm sure this is only the start. He isn't going to give up on getting more power for himself."

Astrid frowned, "We're going to have a keep a close eye on him, and I suggest keeping a close eye on Snotlout as well. Spinelout is going to try and harm him in some way again."

As suspected, no evidence was dug up connecting Spinelout to Hookfang's drugging, and Hiccup was left unable to do something about it.

In terms of the drug itself, Mala, Valka and Fishlegs believed it was some sort of compound of dragon root and eel, two things that negatively affected most dragons. The substance seemed to fade away on its own, and Hookfang recovered with no apparent side-effects, but with Berk having all but destroyed its dragon root population because of its effects, the question of how someone got their hands on it remained.

Fortunately, the event hadn't done much to the relations between Berk and the Defenders of the Wing, Queen Mala understood that it was the actions of one person, and not at all reflective of Berk as a whole. She'd even offered to look into how dragon root had reached the island when she returned home, an offer Hiccup readily accepted.

"Thanks Mala, if you find anything, let us know."

"Of course, Chief Hiccup." She responded, "It's the least we can do for our long-standing allies."

He smiled, then frowned thoughtfully, "Queen Mala, you said that the name of the island Snotlout was frozen on was called Wandering Isle."

She inclined her head, "Indeed, at least, that's what my people call it."

"Do your legends say anything more about it?"

"Not much truthfully." She explained further, "My ancestors called it Wandering Isle, because it continuously drifted in and out of existence, one day it would be there, the next it would be gone. Indeed, we weren't aware it drifted out of time until what occurred with Snotlout."

"So, no one has ever been stuck on it before like he was?"

"Not that we know of." She answered. She then frowned, "Why do you ask?"

He sighed, "A few weeks ago, we met a man called Ævar, did Dagur mention this?"

She nodded, "Indeed, my own healers tried to do what we could for him but I'm afraid we had little success."

He continued, "Well, he seemed to think that Snotlout is…well…aging slower than everyone else."

She frowned again, "Chief Hiccup, Ævar is hardly the most reliable source of information. For all intents and purposes, Snotlout seems to be aging at the same rate as everyone else."

Hiccup ran a hand through his hair, "I know, but I just can't get the thought out of my head, what if he is aging slower?"

She smiled, "Well, your instincts have proven right often in the past, but I'd advise against becoming too focused on this. Perhaps Snotlout is indeed aging slower, but that sounds more like something of a good thing to me."

"I guess you're right."

With a happy roar, Hookfang dived and levelled out, glad to be back in the air after Valka declared him well enough to fly.

Snotlout also gave a whoop and laughed, "Nice one Hooky!"

The Nightmare rumbled happily and soared over the ocean, swooping low and brushing his claws along the tips of the waves, he then grinned evilly and dived underwater, giving his rider no warning whatsoever.

Moments later, he resurfaced and took to the air, a spluttering Snotlout berating him.

"Hookfang! Why do you do that?!"

The dragon chortled unrepentantly in response and continued to ascend lazily into the sky. He levelled out and continued at a leisurely pace, Snotlout attempting to wring his soaked clothes out a little. The boy lazily looked out over the sea, then frowned as he spotted a small boat out on its own.

"Hey, what's that?"

Hookfang growled and frowned along with his rider. Without prompting, he flew lower in order to try and help Snotlout identify the vessel.

Unfortunately, they were close to the shore, in an area filled with sea stacks and the boat swiftly disappeared from sight. They circled around the rough area of its former location but saw nothing and Snotlout shrugged, "Maybe it was someone from Berk out on a lone fishing trip."

Hookfang rumbled in agreement, but both dragon and rider still felt uneasy.

They couldn't put their finger on it, but something felt off, they were sure something else was going on. However, with nothing else to go on, they turned away and flew back towards Berk.

Spinelout sat sullenly in a large chair, glowering at the flames before him.

Around the shelves carved into the rocky surroundings, sat several other members of the Jorgenson clan, sharing his anger.

This was a secret place, known only to a few, most of which were present, and Spinelout used it to hold meetings with his most loyal followers. This is where his ambition was clearest, and at its most dangerous.

His eyes roamed over those gathered, and he spoke dangerously, "Which one of you spiked the dragon's food?"

Silence was his only answer, and his eyes narrowed, picking out the one who looked most nervous.

"Gorelout."

The man in question visibly gulped, "Spinelout, sir."

"It was you wasn't it?"

Spinelout's words were more a deadly fact than a question, and Gorelout began to shake, "I was only trying to punish the outcast, he didn't deserve to win nor have any form of achievement."

Spinelout sat up, "Do you realise how suspicious it looked, Snotlout's dragon suddenly going wild during a race, and with Mala present nonetheless. Did you really think she and Valka would not recognise that the Nightmare had been poisoned?"

"Well…I…"

"And of course, that instantly puts suspicion on me, we now have to be very careful to avoid Hiccup's watchful gaze."

Gorelout bowed his head, "I'm sorry."

"We must continue with our plans carefully, now is not the time to risk tipping our hand through foolishness. Understand?"

The man nodded, "Yes, it won't happen again."

"Good."

Spinelout looked to the rest, "Now, we must use extreme caution, the situation is…delicate. It would be best if we slow our progress a little, let Hiccup and the rest become less watchful."

He transferred his gaze to another, "Spearlout, how are our…negotiations…going."

A shifty looking man answered, "As well as can be expected, repeated discussions with our potential assistant are progressing. He wants to get his hands on Snotlout as much as you do, plus, his methods may help us extract details of the Jorgenson Trial from the boy."

Spinelout nodded, "Excellent." He looked to another of his followers, "Audhild, are acquisitions of supplies on schedule."

A business-like woman inclined her head slightly, "Indeed, our suppliers are more than happy to trade what we have to offer for whatever we need. Of course, transporting our purchases secretly is difficult, but we've remained unnoticed so far."

"Good." Spinelout frowned, "It will be difficult to time everything correctly. We must make sure all our plans are carefully laid before beginning, once we kidnap Snotlout, Hiccup and his allies will be on the hunt for him. We won't have much time to complete our objectives before we lose the advantage."

"I believe I have something that can help with that."

He glanced up in surprise, "What do you mean, Foxlout?"

A man lounged carelessly upon one of the shelves, "A contact I have specialises in subtle operations like kidnappings, he can not only take Snotlout, but do so in a way that will put Hiccup and the rest on a wild goose chase that'll last for ages. That'll help keep suspicion off us as we fulfil the plan at our own place."

Spinelout frowned, "And what will this 'specialist' want in exchange?"

Foxlout waved a hand carelessly, "Nothing really, apparently he had a bit of a falling out with Spitelout some time ago, he'll consider getting time to do as he wishes with Snotlout as payment this time. He even said he'd help get the information you want out of the boy."

Spinelout grinned, "How very generous. Let's take him up on his offer."

The other man smiled, "Sure thing, I'll let him know and arrange a meeting so you two can sort out all the details."

Satisfied, Spinelout addressed those gathered as a whole, "Very well, we shall continue with preparations. With patience and cunning, we'll finally get the Jorgenson clan into the great position it deserves!"

The secret meeting over, Foxlout ambled along the dark cliffs of Berk, far from the eyes and ears of anyone else.

Breathing in the cold night air, he smirked as he thought Spinelout and his 'grand plan'.

Spinelout was ambitious but foolish, he thought himself cunning and clever, but he didn't realise that he was so easily manipulated. The rest of the clan may follow him blindly, but Foxlout was no such devoted minion, he had his own agenda.

He sensed the presence of another, and chuckled.

"Wolflout, I wasn't expecting you to be in the area."

He turned and saw another man, sat so still upon a nearby rock, he could well have been taken for a statue.

The man's voice gave little away, "But I was expecting you, I feel that things are stirring in Berk."

Foxlout smiled playfully, "Of course your instincts would bring you back here now. Seems that several skeletons of the Jorgenson clan are coming out of the closet, so to speak." He grinned, "Though enough with the 'I felt it' stuff, you heard about Snotlout's reappearance and came to see for yourself. You always did have a soft spot for that boy."

"And you only have interests in yourself." Wolflout retorted, "Using the clan's ambitions to further your own goals?"

"But of course." Foxlout smiled, "Trying to glean my motives from what I say?"

"More from what you don't say."

Foxlout sat on the ground, and casually lay down, closing his eyes, "You were always so good at subterfuge. Certainly, better than any other Jorgenson, too bad the clan doesn't respect the fine art of subtlety." He opened one eye, "Hence why father effectively threw you out."

Wolflout snorted, "I am well aware that you certainly helped push him towards that decision, clearing the way for yourself naturally."

"So, are you now here to try and stop me, out of revenge?"

"I am here to stop you, but not out of revenge."

Foxlout sat up in interest, "Oh?"

Wolflout huffed, "Revenge is for fools, my motivations are quite different." He stood, "Now, I have some Jorgenson schemes to unravel."

With barely a sound, Wolflout disappeared into the night, and Foxlout lay back down, smiling in amusement, "Not here for revenge? What else could you want…oh…I see." He burst out laughing, "Oh that's just hilarious, so that's your motivation!"

He sat up once more.

"Let's see how far it gets you, brother."

PS-So this marks the third version of Wolflout (he's appeared in two other stories of mine in different AUs) and reveals the machinations in the shadows. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.