I Am Dragonblood: Secret Uncovered {Book Three} (HTTYD Fanfic)

Chapter Twelve - Land Ahoy!

They headed west. The whole of Berk's community flying just under cloud level, with dragons carrying boats full of sheep and Vikings. Astrid flew at the front, trying to get to grips with Toothless's tail mechanism. 
    'How in the world does Hiccup move this thing?!' She asked the air for the tenth time. 'He has a metal leg, for Thor's sake!'
    She tried moving it into the gliding position but instead they pitched to one side, ramming into Hookfang. The Nightmare lit himself and snapped at Toothless, earning a snarl from the Alpha. 
    'Alright, calm down everyone,' Astrid said, righting Toothless. He growled at her in annoyance. 'Sorry, my fault.' 
    They were all cranky from hours of flying, dragons and riders both sore and aching. Tiredness had set in an hour ago, though Grump had been taken by it minutes after leaving Berk. 
    A Night Terror screeched into place beside Toothless and Astrid, chattering frantically. 
    'I can't understand a word of what you're saying, Bolt,' Astrid told her. 
    The Terror screeched over to Stormfly, who was flying nearby, and dropped onto her back in human form.
    'Ican'tfindSquishyanywhere andthelastplaceIsawhimwasatBerkandIthinkhegotleftbehindandIneedtogobackbutI'mtootired-' she paused to take a gulp of air '-socanIrideStormflybackandlookforhimI'lltryandbebackquicklyok?'
    Astrid blinked, her mind trying to catch up with the muddled words. 'Um... Stormfly?'
    The Nadder rawked and turned around, diving under an oncoming Hotberple. 'Thank youuuuuuu!' Bolt yelled from the saddle, hanging on by her fingertips. 
    Astrid shook her head as her beloved dragon disappeared from sight. 'Why did I let her do that?'
    'I have no idea,' Fishlegs said. He had his dragon cards fanned out in one hand and a baby Gronckle in the other. 'Look! Land!' He shouted over the hatching's sneeze, pointing ahead with his card hand. 
    There was an island rising from the sea in the distance, sheer cliff sides stark against the water and sky. Even from this far way it looked big, twice the size of Berk at least. 
    'Land ahoy!' The twins yelled. 
    With renewed vigour they sped towards the island, children crowding at the bow of flying boats and dragons chirruping at the prospect of rest and food. 
    Astrid and Toothless landed first, after surveying the island and surrounding seas. It was good to be on the ground again, where you could stretch your legs without a risk of falling from a great height. 
    The dragons and Vikings landed around her, the magnificent scaled beasts panting from the long journey. The riders immediately started planning houses, placing branches to outline buildings, and a lot of the other people did the same.
    'Guys, what are you doing?' Astrid asked them. 
    'What does it look like?' Snotlout replied, a stick in one hand and a rock in the other. 'Building my palace. And Fishlegs is building a shack.'
    The blonde Viking sighed. 'We're not staying here, you know. This is just a stop-off before we continue on.'
    Everyone in the vicinity groaned. 
    'But this place is perfect,' Snotlout argued. 'It's defendable, there's loads of space to build my castle—'
    'I thought you said palace,' Fishlegs put in. 
    Snotlout glared at the Ingerman. 'And space away from Fishface here and those two muttonheads,' he pointed to the twins, who were fighting over a stick. 
    'He has a point,' Eret said. 'We should stay here for a while and let the dragons recharge.'
    Astrid looked at the dragons. Most of them had fallen asleep where they'd landed and the few who were still awake were groggy and drooping. She glanced at Toothless and saw his worried green eyes were half closed and his wings were resting on the ground where he sat. 
    'You're right,' she admitted. 'They need a break, we all do.'
    'Great!' Gobber said. 'Say hello to New Berk!' 
    'Until Bolt gets back!' Astrid shouted over the cheers, which only lessened slightly. 'Urgh.'
    Valka walked over to her and gently placed a slender hand on Astrid's shoulder. 'I should head back to make sure we weren't followed.'
    The Hofferson looked up into Hiccup's mother's green reptilian eyes. She and Bolt were the only two Dragonbloods who escaped Grimmel's clutches. 'Yes, good idea.' 
    Valka nodded and signalled to her Stormcutter, Cloudjumper. Together, the human now dragon, they leapt up into the sky and flew up into the clouds, vanishing into the white mistiness. 
    Astrid watched the clouds for a few long seconds, envisioning Hiccup flying down from them with all the other Dragonbloods. She wondered where he was now, picturing the stiff, blank look on his face when she last saw him. This new enemy had known the Chief was a Dragonblood, known the others were, too. Known they where they were and what to use to control them. 
    How were they going to fight this one?
    Astrid shook her head, wisps of fair hair drifting about her worried face. There was no point staring at the sky, no point worrying. She had to do something. 
    'Hey, Eret,' she caught his arm as he walked past, a basket under one arm. 'Where would Grimmel go now that he's caught the Dragonbloods?'
    Eret, son of Eret thunked the basket down, the lid shifting to the side so that a fish tail poked out. 'He would probably have watched from a safe distance then sailed back to Berk to see if anyone was left, and then he would find a base of some kind.'
    'And he can't have gone too far yet,' Astrid said. 'If we go back now we could catch him while at sea and launch a surprise attack.'
    'No,' Eret told her sternly. 'He will know that you'd want to go back, and will have a trap ready for you. He gets into the minds of his prey and predicts every move, turning it to his advantage. If any of us go back, there will be trouble.'
    Astrid paled, her blue eyes becoming wide. 'Valka went back to see if anyone had followed us. And Bolt flew back to look for Squishy... With Stormfly.'