Ava turned once more to allow him to change, and as he changed, she picked up the bag that had been tossed lazily in her direction, throwing it over her shoulder. Once she heard his bark, she turned and eagerly climbed onto his back. That part still took a while, but sh was getting used to it thought and it didn't take as long as it hard the first time she had climbed on to get settled for the flight. Once she was settled, she leaned forward and soon he had took off, scaring the poor Nadder as they flew by at such a quick speed, "Poor thing. Guess it just wasn't used to encountering such a fast dragon." She commented, looking back and watching it fly back to the island.

Once they were up high, she sighed i contentment, "I have definitely come to enjoy this. At this rate I might consider never going back to my village." She half joked though honestly was half serious as well. She enjoyed this a lot better than making those stupid weapons for her village. But, she also knew thy would likely find her and force her back once her father got home and realized she was gone. She would have to go back sooner or later and she would prefer it be before then so that Blizzard wouldn't get hurt or captured again when they finally did find her. Looking down at him, she smiled, "Where to next? Hopefully somewhere interesting?"

Their views of excitement were probably vastly different. After all Ava was frightened by the thought of entering a meager little village who probably had no enemies aside from the local dragons. One would think they would have gotten along swimming given the man that had raised her most of these years... But if she couldn't even face that what could he show her in these waters that wouldn't spook her? He closed his eyes and breathed in the brisk air- it grew colder as they got closer to Berk. A school of Scaldrons passed through the waves below them unaware they were being watched since his white scales camouflaged them against the clouds above. Their wings would spread over the surface in a watery flight, scattering droplets and after a few moments of watching this Blizzard dipped lower to fly through the light spray. By the time the dragons noticed them he had already scooped past them all- snatching a fish out of the water and flipping it upward to catch it in his mouth.

He ascended again- and from this height there was several visible islands in the distance. He rumbled in question. If she was going to be so picky about what she was okay with than she could pick their next location. He'd like to see her do a better job.

The flight felt very good, and she could only guess from the air growing more chilled as they flew that the direction they were going in was south. She breathed in the crisp air and leaned over to look down below them when she heard the sounds of dragons. Below them, hopping in and out of the water, where dragons she knew as Scaldrens. The only thing she knew was that they spit boiled water at their victims, something she never found use for when making weapons for her village. She never rally watched them in the wild before and it was somewhat interested. They didn't see she or Blizzard due to being hidden by the color of his scales and clouds, which made it the perfect opportunity for her to observe them. They were a school, many of them traveling together, and them seemed happy to just be in their natural habitat. They were somewhat frightened when Blizzard swooped down and back up again, but a moment later they were back to their jumping and swimming, as if nothing could happen that could ruin their day when they were in their school and safe in the waves of the vast ocean.

Hearing Blizzard rumbled in a questioning tone, she looked down at him again and back up to the islands in the distance, pursing her lips in thought, "You want me to choose where we go next?" When he confirmed that was what he wanted she nodded and thought about it a moment before leaning foward, "Let's keep going a little further. When I see one I think we should go to I'll tell you." And that's what they did. They traveled for another hour before she finally spotted an island she thought looks interesting and pointed it out to him, "There's one. How about we go there?" The island looked lush, filled with trees and different sorts of plants. Of course, that meant there would be different dragons there as well. She wasn't sure how she felt about that, but it looked so amazing there that she was willing to give the place a try. If the dragons there were anything like the Nadder they had met on that other island, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

Just when he was beginning to think she was incapable of making a decision she pointed out an island as it appeared ahead of them and turning his head he took in the landscape. It was an island he knew to have housed timberjacks in the past but they had been gone for a VERY long time, longer than he had been alive and in their stead was a healthy forest of plush trees. When he last visited he’d only crossed paths with terrors but given the way his scales crawled he was pretty sure their was some changewings living in the brush- their skill of camouflage even better than that of his mother’s pure bred race (if only because they could take on a variety of shades without the aid of light). The short time he spent on the island none had bothered him but then he had only walked the outer edges of the forest- the foliage too thick to enter by flight and his patience to thin to go by foot.

The chief of Berk had suggested this island was under the control of a queen but if it was in did not seem to be a maleficent one. Blizzard circled around- looking for a safe place to land and found one on the island’s tail: a chain of large rocks the bent outward from the east end, building a sort of ’natural pier’. He folded his wings snug against his sides and trotted to the narrow beach before letting Ava off. In the process of doing this though he idled and stared down into the clear water because there seemed to be a current coming from beneath the island. Perhaps there was an underwater cave or a series of them carved into this earth. He snapped at a fish with a blue tailfin but it took off to fast and he had immediately abandoned the task. It wasn’t enough to hold his attention but the massive trees crowding the shore managed to.

He hopped onto the huge roots- almost everyone was bent up in a massive arch, creating open doorways that went nowhere. Many draped in moss and a few occupied by colorful birds as they warmed their wings. Late to migration but then when Blizzard sprung onto their perch and they scattered beneath the roots he realized they must not be capable of flight. Scampering meat sacks. Lucky for them he wasn’t all that hungry right then but that didn’t mean he didn’t get a kick from chasing them about the crowded beach with excited barks at least until a flock of terrors decided to show up. Frying the frazzled birds and scoffing them up.

Needless to say he dealt with them accordingly- shooting a plasma blast into their ranks and blasting the lot of them in opposite directions, leaving them disoriented as they scrambled upright.

Ava leaned forward as he landed and one on the ground, slid off of his back carefully when he allowed her to, watching as he began hopping around and chasing a flock of blue flightless birds around with glee. She found it amusing that such a simple thing would be fun to him, but then again, she had never chased birds before so maybe she just didn't know how fun it really could be. With that thought, she grinned slightly and hopped onto a root, scaring more of them. Laughing she did this a second time before the terrors showed up. They were such little dragons, and she would somewhat compare them to ants in a way she would compare dragons to a cat or a dog by the way the terrors ate anything the bigger dragons had let over or didn't go after.

She looked away as the terrors began to fry the birds and eat them, looking at Blizzard, "Well, there goes that fun. Should we go further into the brush maybe? Or should we stay on the shore line?" She asked. If they stayed on the shore lines then they likely wouldn't find much more than these sightless birds and terrors. But f they went further into the forest, they might be able to see things that Ava had never sen before, which was something she would like to do before going back to her own village. After the terrors finished their snacks, Ava bent down and reached her hand out, to which a coupe of the terrors eagerly approached, sniffing an barking with curiosity at her, making her laugh more, "You little guy are more trusting than the other dragons, aren't you?" That or more dependent and less intelligent. Whichever came first.

After petting a few more of them, she stood up straight and smiled at him, "Maybe you could show me more about dragons?"

Blizzard snorted at the terrors as the simpleminded creatures sought the affection of a human without any prior encouragement. It was this sort of stupidity that had gotten countless terrors killed at the hands of Vikings in the past. Creeping up to steal a snack from some no name tribe and ending up with their skull pancaked beneath a mallet. Fortunately for them they bred like rabbits or else there would probably be none left. Blizzard had even seen larger dragons eat terrors on occasion (like a crunchy rat) but they were way to stringy for his taste. He wouldn’t mind killing the annoying things but that would be wasteful and Ava had warmed up to them rather easily so it would almost be… cruel for him to do so now. In the end he just scared them off with a powerful roar.

They scattered much like the birds had. Maybe he should chase them around for awhile? With a displeased snort he shook his head and turned in the direction of the forest- squeezing his way between the trunks and scanning the hazy shadows for anything of interest. He was pleased to find that while the canopy remained thick and full there was soon more room to walk comfortably between the trees. And after some walking he lazily swept his tail from one side to the other and then harmless whapped Ava on the back of her head just to see how she would react only as soon as he did he felt a ripple of unease in his own mind and threw one wing around her as shadows shifted from the brush.

Unseen scales rippled into existence as changewings crept into sight, surrounding them in the narrow clearing. Blizzard rose his hackles in warning and showed his teeth. Colors rippled rapidly across their scales meant to confuse and in such numbers it did a good job. They moved closer in a baffling display and while Blizzard had shot his fire at them they didn’t scatter. One bit into his tail as it whipped in anger and he howled in surprise- lashing out and catching the closest with his short claws and drawing blood from its face.

Ava gave him a stern look when he scared the little terrors away, but said nothing of it. After all, it was probably right for him to chase them away. They couldn't have the little creatures following them deeper into the forests. And so the terrors ran off with squeaks and yelps, going on their own ways and away from the two of them. As soon as they were gone, Blizzard began to move into the brush, she guessed as a sign to tell her they were going into the forest, rather than stay on the shoreline. Shrugging her shoulders, she smiled and followed him. It was easier for her to navigate into the brush and around the tighter spaces than it was for him, but soon it gave a little more room and Blizzard was able to move around better as well.

She smiled more as she looked around, enjoying the calm and peaceful air this place seemed to give off, though soon after thinking about how nice and quiet it was, she got whapped in the back of the head by Blizzard's tail She gasped in surprise at first when it made contact before laughing and playfully hit his side with her fist, "Hey! You big bully! Why did you--" She cut herself off though when Blizzard's wing suddenly flew out and wrapped it around her in protection. She tensed and looked about her for the danger that the white dragon was obviously sensing, and very soon she could see the shifts.

It was strange because it looked like the scenery was moving at first, but then she realized that was not it at all. These were dragons and they were moving, seeming to change with their surroundings to match the colors. At first she thought that maybe they might see them as no threat and leave but that didn't happen because soon Blizzard yowled in pain as one bit his tail and the fight started. Sh didn't know what she should do. Blizzard had told her to not draw her knife anymore. But these dragons were hurting him! Not even taking anything second to think about it, she pulled out her dagger and pressing the button it began to spark. This seemed to catch most of the dragon's attentions and she swung it in their directions making thm back up, obviously surprised by the sparking metal.

Then, she also couldn't help but notice their skin changed a little, keeping the background but also having flashes of a blue sort of color here or there, as if trying to mimic the flashing and zipping light coming off of the dagger. They seemed in a way entranced by it and when she would move the dagger, their eyes would follow. As if in a way of testing this she turned off the electricity and their mannerisms changed again, growling and snapping until she switched it on once more. She, getting an idea, moved toward a good sized pond that was in the clearing slowly, motioning for the changewings to follow with the dagger, though she was sure that they wouldn't have if she didn't have what caught their attention with her. She patted Blizzard, as if silently telling him to stay close by.

The pond wasn't deep and it never got deeper than knee deep for her. Soon she had crossed it walking backwards and once she stepped on land, she looked at the changewings. They all stood int he pond eyes on her interesting dagger. Then, making sure Blizzard was out of the water, she knelt, placing the tip of the dagger in the water, sending an electrical shock through it. It wouldn't kill the beasts, but it would sure leave them momentarily stunned, giving them a chance to escape, "Run Blizzard!" She said, sheathing her dagger and hopping onto his back. He would have to run until they got to the shore and could fly. It took a few moments, but soon the changewings had shaken off the shock and were after them. They were a few feet behind them when they finally reached the shore and Blizzard took off into the sky.

Sighing, Ava leaned against Blizzard as she sat there and spoke, "Well...that wasn't a good choice of island on my part...how about you pick the island we're going to spend the night on. It might be better if you did it."

Blizzard knew he was the more powerful dragon here but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t be put off balance by their coordinated attack. He lashed out, shooting hot plasma as he attempted to keep them off his hide but they had something more frustrating than fire (which his scales protected him against) in their bodies. One was about to spit and he prepared to spring when suddenly the acid must have trickled back down the glands since the changewings had all turned as one- drawn by the trick of Ava’s dagger. It held them fully.

They moved away from the clearing and into water. Blizzard smartly decided to remain upon the shore because he’d seen the damage of a sea shocker and did not want to be on the receiving in. While drawn by the resulting sight he still ran the moment he felt Ava’s weight on his back- propelled by the sound of her shout. They made it to the coast and he launched them into the sky, flying away from the island. Once they were far enough away he slowed his flight and was silent. That hadn’t gone as he had hoped but the last time he visited the changewings had never attacked- just… lingered.

He drifted towards a small rocky island void of more than a handful of trees and only a couple miles long. It was obvious as soon as they landed, however, that some of the boulders were something else entirely when several glanced their way- but the gronkles did no more than study them from a distance before one yawned and rolled onto its side- soaking in the last of the sun’s rays. The others seemed equally unconcerned to Blizzard laid down, deciding this was a good place to sleep.

Well, so it seemed not all dragons were as nice as she may have begun to thought. True, from how the Nadder had reacted, not all of them were bad, but there were some that obviously hated humans just as much as humans hated them. She had a feeling that the changewing attack had been caused by her being there. For now on, she made a mental note to not approach any dragons unless Blizzard gave her the go ahead that it was safe. She let out a small sigh as Blizzard landed, laying down to allow her to get off, as well as to say that was where they were staying for the night. The moment her feet hit the sand, she heard a small movement and looked up.

What she thought were boulders and large rocks were something else. Dragons she knew as Gronkles lifted their heads to look at them momentary and for a second Ava thought they might try to attack like the Changewings did. But, either the dragons weren't too concerned about them or were just too lay to get up because they ignored she and Blizzard. She nodded to herself and began to walk around the beach, gathering sticks and such, piling them neatly to make a fire, "Here, light that for me. I'm going to catch some fish for dinner, okay?" And that was what she did, going out to the water, and doing the same as she had for breakfast, shocked the water, gathering the fish.

Once she was back and had cooked the fish, she thought for a moment before speaking, "I think....maybe tomorrow you should take me back home. I mean, not that this isn't fun, but my father will be home soon and I need to be back before he is. If I don't he'll send out a search party and...well.....things get bad when he sends out search parties." She commented. If the search party were to find her with a dragon, they would very likely kill Blizzard and that was something she didn't want happening. Taking a bite of her fish, she leaned back against Bliard, frowning, "Thank you....for all of this.....it was possibly the most exciting and greatest thing that has ever happened to me."

It wouldn’t be the last time.
If anything it was one of the first. Her future would be bright.

He knew that even while she talked of going back to that life of silent misery it would be his choice alone to return her- and he would not. By her words he knew how much she enjoyed this life he showed her and that she would remain, if not for fear. It was silly when he had promised to protect her but maybe she still did not fully believe he would? Humans were so foolish.

At that moment he didn’t want to argue but he snorted to show his displeasure and turned his head away from her. Refusing to meet her gaze. This conversation was over in his book and while she didn’t realize it yet he wouldn’t be taking her back to that island regardless of what she said to try and convince him, if anything he would only pretend to agree.

Ava knew he wasn't happy with her. Why would he be? Her asking to be taken back would, in her mind, be considered a slap in the face after all he had one for her. But, it was for his own protection that she needed to go back. He said nothing to her. He didn't change into a human to argue with her like she half expected him to do. He just sounded of his displeasure in her decision and turned away, refusing to look at her. She frowned deeply and sighed, continuing to eat her fish until she was full. When she did finish eating, she just sat there and watched the sun set, the colors from it reflecting off of the water beautifully. It was a good sight, and one she made sure to remember as these sight would not be seen back in her hoe island where her father would likely lock her up in her room after this an not let her out.

Once the sun had gone down, she took int he warm of the fire for a little while before sighing and laying down on the sand, looking over at Blizzard, though he still didn't look back at her. She frowned though after a moment, she tried to give a weak smile, and in attempt to get on good standings with him again, she moved, sitting up to crawl over to where he was, leaning over to attempt to look him in the eyes, "Night Blizzard." Still, he would just turn his head to avoid her gaze. This time to try and get him to look at her, she stood up and hopped onto his back and scooted up as far as she sit to lean over and look at him upside down, her weak smile growing into a more playful one, "I said goodnight you stubborn dragon."

She wanted him to look at her but he refused to meet her gaze- going so far to turn his head when she got in his face. He figured that would be the end of it and closed his eyes to sleep when suddenly he felt her shimming across his back. Inwardly he bristled but knew some sort of reaction was exactly what she wanted so he ignored her. Surely if she saw he had no intention to play along she would leave. Only that wasn’t what happened. Her breath was on his snout and his eyes snapped open to find her own directly in front of him. He startled- shaking her off with just enough force and kicked sand onto her in the haste he spun away.

For a moment he clawed at the soft earth, angrily digging away heaps until he was certain that nothing could satisfy him more than actually speaking and he transformed. Straightening and glaring with eyes so unnaturally bright in the dim light. “Ava, you got to leave me alone! It took us several cycles to reach this island and if I am to get you back” He snarled the word but didn’t pause “before your father returns I will be flying all day. So please…” It was laced with tension and unspoken anger. He stressed the desire to be left alone. “Let. Me. Sleep.” No sooner than he finished he turned away to sit alone and the gronkles pretended as though they hadn’t been watching.

Ava for a moment thought he wouldn't respond to her and was about to give up and crawl off of his back when he suddenly threw her off his back. She landed on the sand with a grunt, and as if to add insult to injury, he kicked sand at her. She coughed and brushed the sand off of her as she stood, looking up to see him transform, glaring at her with those unnatural eyes in a way that....hurt. Why was he even so angry she had said she needed to go back? he thought he would be overjoyed to be done with her and go off on his own. Not act like this. When he was done snarling and verbally attacking her, he turned and settled down to sleep again, leaving her standing there feeling saddened and baffled all at once. Slowly she moved away from where he lay to sit a good ways from him on the sand, feeling angry and hurt tears pricking the corners of her eyes.

After a while, she finally gave into the fact she needed sleep and layed back, on the sand staring up at the stars and at first, didn't feel tired. Her mind was still racing from the little confrontation that had just happened moments before and she just couldn't get it out of her mind. The question of why he even cared if she was going back still burned in the back of her mind and wasn't about to let her go to sleep easily. She wracked her brain trying to think of a reason, but she finally decided that she may never know the answer the that question, and when she felt tired enough to close her eyes, she drifted off a few hours after his little fit.

It wasn’t so much that she hurt his feelings by wanting to go back but rather he was mad she was putting on a tough face rather. She didn’t really want to return to that island- she was staring longingly to the sky and looked so sad despite that false smile. He couldn’t look at her like this. He didn’t get why she couldn’t understand that. He’d deal with her later but even if he wasn’t taking her there, there was still a long flight ahead of them to Berk.

When the next morning came he lay silently waiting for her to wake until that became to much and soon he was pacing the beach- stretching his wings to warm them in the first rays of the sun, the light causing various colors to dance across his scales as he sat basking and breathing in the morning air. No doubt his arrival at Berk would be an exciting one but first he had to get them there.

Ava woke to have light shin to her face and was confused by it. What int he world was shinning like that? Blinking tiredly, Ava sat up and looked around, only to see Blizzard, pacing about and stretching out his wing, the morning sun reflecting off of his scales to give them a rainbow shine that bounced off into different directions. She stood up now and began to brush the sand off of her, silent for the time being and she walked over to the fire she had made the night before. Making sure it was put out by covering the wood with sand, she nodded to herself before walking over to Blizzard, making sure he saw the displeasure on her face.

She knew she was holding a grudge and she shouldn't be, but she was. She hadn't liked how he treated her yesterday. whether he was angry at her or not, it wasn't right to just throw hr around like that. Standing in front of him, she crossed her arms, "Are you going to fly me or not? Because if not, I'll start heading off on my own." Not that she'd get that far. If the dragons didn't attack than her father would find her as it would take extensively longer for her to get home on foot and water(if she managed to build or find something sea worthy at all) than it would flying. But she also wasn't about to fly with him if he was going to act like he had last night during their flight. Putting hr hands on her hips, she waited for his answer, tilting her head to the side.

For some reason he thought sleep would improve her mood but that didn’t seem to be the case. It wasn’t like she could ’walk’ home, he doubted she even knew what direction it was in at this point. She was just being a stubborn Viking. She still needed him but rubbing that in her face right now would only sour her demeanor more, so instead he folded his wings and lowered his front to the sand- chin against the beach, his posture compliant as he waited for her to get on. No point in doing anything else.

As soon they were in the sky he knew he’d be in control no matter how much of a fit she threw or how angry she was at him. They were going to Berk and not even a storm was going to deter him should it come to that. Nor cold winds or freezing snow. All she had to do now was get on and he was waiting rather patiently.

When he knelt down to let her on, she climbed onto his back and held on as he took off. If the wind and weather allowed it, then she would be home by night fall, not that it made her happy. Leaving this....this freedom was something she didn't wish to do. But she knew it was for the best. It was to keep Blizzard safe and to keep her father from coming after them. She sighed and the hours seemed to pass too quickly for her. She ran a hand through her hair and looked down at him, feeling sad once more. When the end of the day came he would fly away and she would probably never see him again. Thinking that made her heart drop in her chest and some of her anger toward him dropped in her chest.

Leaning forward as they flew, she rested her chin against him, her arms lazily around his neck, though she didn't say anything. She just stayed like that, looking up at the sky and clouds and feeling the breeze. The cold was biting and left goosumps on her arms as snowflakes began to fall through the air. Wait. She froze and tensed against him as she realized something. SNOW? Why was there snow? It NEVER snowed in her home village, or anywhere close to there for that matter. She sat up, eye wide as she looked around, then down at him, in a sudden panic "Wait. Wait, wait, wait. This...this isn't the way back home! Where are you taking me?!"

She looked down at him but it was only momentarily. A moment later she was looking back up, eyes searching for anything that was familiar and more so, a way to get off of this dragon and head in the right direction, whatever way that was. But, there was none. If she jumped off of his back, she was be taken in by the freezing waters below, which she no doubt would not last long in. She was stuck whether she wanted to believe it or not. t was then that, in the distance, she could see what seemed like a very populated island. Something didn't seem right at all, "Blizzard, turn some other direction. I don't want to go near that island." But, he kept in that direction, and even seemed to be heading for the island, and in getting closer she could see dragons amount them. Dragon Riders, "Blizzard! Don't you even think about it! Those are dragon riders! Do you know what they do to people like me?! Horrible things, that's what! Don't!" She yelled as he prepared to begin his descent.

It was a quiet flight across equally silent seas. The only explanation for this was the girl being caught beneath the churning waves of unpleasant thoughts- he knew in those hours that Ava dwelled upon going back to that miserable island. While he’d like to tell her now that she didn’t need to worry, she lacked the understanding necessary to feel anything but panic. Her arms snaked around his thick neck but he kept his gaze forward as they flew on, descending gradually- almost unnoticeably -lower. The air was marginally warmer closer to the earth where it was thicker and he knew she was not garbed for freezing weather. Up above the clouds, at the high altitude he usually flew these long distances, ice would have crawled across even his own hide. He wouldn’t test what it would do to her.

Finally her poor human sight seemed to pick out Berk among unsavory conditions. If she had uncertainty when it first appeared there among the water- it passed quickly. Dragons were visible in the sky around the island and it was obvious that they were with riders. He did not acknowledge her panic because though she did not know it yet, it was ungrounded. Where had she thought he came from anyhow? So willing to trust a human she should have known right then that he was in the same class as these dragons ahead of them.

He descended despite her protests and pleas, his flight now wavering in the slightest. Rather than dropping right into the village though and causing a big stir and a lot confusion he landed just beyond its boundaries on a cliff overlooking the sea. His approach must have been spotted though since a moment later there was another dragon, blocking the path down into the trees. Immediately he recognized the nadder by the blue of her scales and from her back a woman dropped with hair the color of hay and a slim but powerful body. She was beautiful among the Vikings but already well along in her years with a child of her own. An offspring that was currently the best choice for era with Ava missing.

Blizzard watched her with an edge of caution for this reason but she dropped her axe immediately and gasped into her hands “is that…?” Trailing off, breathless with surprise. She grabbed for the weapon again, suddenly full of motion as she turned and then paused looking back at them again when Blizzard didn‘t jump to follow. “We have to tell Hiccup. And Castiel.”

Ava watched with wide eyes as Blizzard swooped down over Berk, in what Ava hoped would be an unnoticed flight, landing on the cliff sides. She slid off of his back and immediately turned to him, "You! You did this on purpose! You planned on bringing me here this whole time! And even after you promised to not bring me to any Dragon riders!" Well, actually the only promise he had made was to keep her safe, but in her mind, her stating before he made that promise she wanted him to keep her from the riders should have been good enough. She was about to unleash more unpleasant word when the sound of wings flapping came to her ears. Turning, she quickly moved back, drawing her dagger when she saw the axe in the woman's hand, but then straightened, confused as she dropped her axe in some sort of shock.

When she said she had to tell someone named Hiccup and Casitel, her feelings were unsure about this. Something told her that this Hiccup and Castiel were likely to be the leaders of this island if it was that important to tell them about a stranger being here, but at the same time, those names were somewhat familiar. She took a few more steps back, her eyes showing fear, worry, anger, and just an all around confusion to them. And when the woman went off, she wasn't sure what she should do. Stay here? She'd bring the others back here then. Maybe follow her and try to stop her? Maybe.

With one glare back to Blizzard, she began chasing after the woman, stumbling a few times over roots and rocks, "W-wait! Don't tell anyone!" But it seemed the woman was too far ahead of her to hear her pleas. She made it to the edge of the brush and saw in the distance the woman moving quickly through the village, probably toward where these two people she spoke of were. She wasn't able to catch her in time. She moved back deeper into the brush, her mind racing and there was only one thing she could think to do. Hide. In a sort of panic, she stumbled over herself to run deeper int other forest, desprete to find a place before any other people grew aware of her presence.

It took a few tries, but she managed to scale a fairly tall tree and was about thirty feet up when she heard voices in the wood, letting her know the woman had successfully alerted people. She took a deep breath and pressed herself against a tree, hoping they might pass her by,

He knew- even if Ava was yet to figure it out -that she would not catch the woman. She was a seasoned Viking warrior and though she had foolishly abandoned her dragon to go on foot (such was a common mistake after being so surprised) her strides were long and strong. Blizzard did not worry himself. Even if Ava did catch up with the woman she would not be in any danger, other than the risk of being physically dragged into the village. Still he took to the sky- vanishing in the sunlight.

Down beneath the thinned canopies he could make out the woman again, walking briskly over the uneven ground and behind her was the chief. Nearly tripping over several roots with his thoughts upon other things beyond his footing. Blizzard knew this to be Ava’s true father. He’d sent searches for his daughter almost as often as the chief before him had sought out the dragon nest. Now he was hurrying to find her- almost disbelieving but of so hopeful. “Are you positive Astrid?”

“Yes. Hiccup.” The woman was growing exasperated because she could see the cliff ahead and the girl was gone. She turned on her heel, scanning the landscape with a sharp eye and held up a hand to silence Hiccup when it looked like he might speak. “She shares a lot of features with you. I couldn’t possibly have been mistaken and she was with Blizzard.”

Said dragon landed towards the top of the tree, bending the upper portion- still invisible in the sun’s rays. He was waiting to see what Ava would do before revealing her.