In a forest at the edge of a small Island, Neil, Cora, and his dragon were sleeping with each other.
During his sleep, Neil was awoken by the sudden vibrations in the Woolly Howl's stomach as it emitted a low growl. As he was waking up he heard a branch snap and the dragon who he was using as a pillow stood up.
When Neil opened his eyes with his blurred vision he could see something flying towards them. As it got closer it was suddenly deflected by the tail of the Woolly Howl, who quickly shot an Ice ball in the direction the object had come from.
The moment that the ice ball made impact with the tree it shattered it forcing a large Viking to roll out of the way. Being exposed and now unarmed the large Viking turned around and began to run but before he could go far Neil shot him in the leg.
Since he wasn't sure if there were any more men hiding in the forest he aimed at the Viking's head to see if any reaction came. There however was no further response which meant three things. Either the man was alone, the rest had run away after their surprise attack had failed, or the men didn't care if their comrade died.
Seeing it more likely that they were alone at the moment he put Cora in her bag and began walking towards the limping Viking with the Woolly Howl as cover.
"Another step and the next one goes into your skull."
When the large man turned around he was surprised that said man was actually nothing more than a very large teen.
'What the hell have they been feeding you!'
The young teen looked at him with a defying gaze as he looked at Neil and then at the arrow that was aimed at his head.
Neil was aware that there was a Village on the Island since the previous night he had seen torches. Since he didn't want to risk any trouble for their short rest stop he just flew as far away from the Village as he could.
'Seems like I was unlucky and encountered a hunter.'
"Look, I'm no threat to you or your Village. I was just resting here so that I could continue my trip, that said attacking me in my sleep….Well, I'll take the axe, and let's call it even."
He put his bow down and began reaching into his other bag for Thyme herbs when suddenly a roaring sound came from behind. When he turned around he saw the young man with a horn in his his mouth.
A few seconds later a horn could be heard from far away.
"Shit!"
When he looked beside him he found the Woolly Howl fully loaded with a misty blue breath.
"No don't!"
The dragon was surprised by his sudden intervention and it angrily closed its mouth causing its body to be covered in icy armor.
"Yeah I know, I messed up....Shut the hell up!"
He kicked the horn aside and stomped on the kid's head which knocked him out.
'Where did he even pull that horn from? I'm sure he didn't have it earlier.'
Neil cursed himself for his immaturity of letting his guard down and not checking for a weapon. He put the Thyme herbs in the kid's mouth and tied him to a tree using a rope he had made with rabbit furs from his makeshift blanket back on the island.
Once the kid was somewhat safe from whatever predators could be found on the Island he began packing up.
Based on the distance that the other horn had responded he had plenty of time. As he and the Woolly Howl were about to fly away a loud blast of sound made disoriented the dragon and forced Neil to cover his ears.
When the noise had stopped he looked up at the source of the sound and found a large blue dragon which resembled a manta ray. It had a large mouth filled with horribly large protruding teeth.
What was a little more surprising were the two men that rode on top of its head. Through the ringing in his ears, he could somewhat hear what they were saying.
"So Stoick, I take it that he isn't one of yours?"
The man in front shook his head, "No, he is not"
'Did he just say Stoick? Well, that would explain why he is riding a dragon…..I don't fully remember what he looked like though.'
"Sir, Are you Stoick from the village of Berk?!"
The man with the long red beard nodded, "Aye I am, and who might you be son?"
Neil patted the snarling Wolly Howl's head and jumped down with his hands up.
"My name is Neil Falk, grandson of the Vaxner Falk, chief of Reioi. After hearing about the rumors of you and dragons I have traveled from far away to visit you. That is why I'm here, I was resting here before resuming my journey before I was attacked."
The faces of both chiefs showed surprise, followed by interest, but when he mentioned being attacked their expressions went out of sync. While Stoick's face showed worry, the large man behind him was full of anger.
"What did you do to my warrior!"
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.
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There was a sudden commotion in the village located in the middle of the Island as two dragons landed at the edge of the village.
Two men rushed to the blue dragon which carried three people.
The big blond man handed the injured teen to them and gave his orders, "Have Poan take a look at the arrow wound.
Neil jumped down from the Woolly Howl and patted its head to come it down. The dragon was clearly uneasy being surrounded by so many people. After receiving permission he moved the dragon father away from the village.
The large blond man who followed him looked at a nearby Viking and began roaring his orders once more.
"Have some men make sure no idiot gets near this dragon."
The man nodded and responded, "Yes Chief" before running off to look for others.
"Well, now that everything has been taken care of why don't we go to my hut and have a talk."
Both Neil and Stoick nodded before following the man into the Village. Once they entered his home they were treated to a meal cooked by the chief's wife. As they ate Neil told them about his trip and what he had gone through.
The two chiefs were very invested in his story and laughed several times. He could tell that the two chiefs had been friends for a long time. After asking what a Village chief was doing in another Village he received his answer.
As it turns out the Village of Nepja which resided on the Island called Shivering Shores had been founded by a Berkian 170 years ago. While the two villages had become separate identities they have continued their friendly relationship.
"So as you see our yearly visit has become somewhat of a tradition haha."
"That it has Riplot, anyway I should probably start heading back. I'll take Young Neil to see what he has worked so hard to see."
The blond man quickly drank his gulp of booze and shook his head, "Nonsense Stoick, stay the night. You just got here after your long journey, after months one night won't kill the young man. Besides he also needs rest let him sleep in Hatyar's room, it's not like the young bastard is going to need it anyway."
Seeing that the stubborn Chief wasn't going to take no for an answer Neil nodded, "Cheif Riplot is right, I would hate to be the cause that your tradition is broken. I appreciate the offer to sleep in a warm home but my dragon isn't comfortable so I'll sleep outside with him."
The blond chief smiled and smacked Neil on the arm hard, "See you heard the boy! Now drink without fear haha!"
After hearing some of their stories Neil excused himself and went over to see the Woolly Howl. Once it had calmed down he went back to the village and began to look around. Many of the Villagers avoided him and some even looked at him with anger. The young ones however were like buzzing flies as they continued to ask him questions about the Woolly Howl.
During the night he couldn't help but smile, after today he would have accomplished his trip. Now the question would be if he could find a way home, whether he could or not his heart would be put at ease.
As a son, he would have done as much as he could to return home even against the unlikely odds. He knew that that was the least he could do for his parents, that said if Berk didn't hold answers then it might mean that he would have to give up. After all the only connection he had with this world before being sucked into it was Berk.