"Now!?" Snotlout said impatiently. You rolled your eyes.

"They aren't close enough! Remember, this is a test to see if the Gronkle iron armor works, not a game called 'How good can we nail Hiccup and Toothless'."

"That sounds like a fun game though! Can we play after this!? I call first shot!" Tuff said quickly.

"No, I call first shot!" Ruff argued.

"Who came up with the idea?" Tuff asked her.

"Actually, (Y/n) did, but I don't think-" Fishlegs was interrupted.

"Oh, right. I call second shot! After you, (Y/n)." You groaned while Fishlegs sighed at their antics. You spotted Hiccup and Toothless coming in fast and low.

"Focus! Here they come!" Everyone got ready. "FIRE THE NET!" Arrow launched a net, but they dodged it. "Hooks!" You shouted. You could see that the two wavered a little, but you knew the drill. "Arrows!" You saw the two pull up to dodge them, but the armor fell off yet again and an arrow hit Toothless in the chest, marking the shot with orange ink.

"Snotlout, Snotlout, oi, oi, oi!" Snotlout cheered as he was the one who fired the arrow.

"Nice shot, Snotlout." Hiccup said, not exactly happy that they were hit. Then, another arrow was fired and hit Hiccup in the chest. "Really!?" Toothless fired back as he laughed and then he stopped.

Later after you all had cleaned up, Fishlegs went up to Hiccup. You knew he was upset that it didn't work again. He'd been trying hard to get it right for a while now.

"I really thought we had it this time."

"Hey, this batch of Gronkle Iron armor lasted longer than the last one." Hiccup encouraged.

"I'm sure we're getting closer, Fishlegs." You agreed.

"Yes, but it wasn't long enough. Unless you wanted Hiccup to get shot down!" Tuff said as the three goons came over.

"Interesting hypothesis, brother." Ruff agreed.

"Why are you trying to kill Hiccup!?" Tuff shouted.

"I'm not trying to kill Hiccup." Fish replied.

"That's exactly what somebody trying to kill Hiccup would say," Tuff said as the twins surrounded him.

"We're keeping our eye on you, mister."

"Yeah, our good eye." You rolled your eyes at the two as Nightshade came over. She ducked her head underneath you and you yelped before laughing.

"Okay, okay! I know we missed it today, but we'll get our run in tomorrow girl. I promise. Unless...anybody else is up for a late-night outing with me and Nightshade."

"I'd be up for it, but it's been a long day. I think all of us should get some rest." Hiccup said.

"I wouldn't head in yet, guys." You all turned.

"Arrow! You're back from Berk already?" Hiccup asked.

"Never made it there. I ran into Trader Johann along the way and he had some interesting news. Hiccup, we need to talk." Realizing it was serious, you all headed inside to hear what he had to say. "Johann flagged me down on the way to Berk to tell me that he'd seen Ryker, Heather and the Dragon Hunters in the Northern Markets buying all the cold weather gear they could get their hands on."

"Why would you buy winter gear in the summer?" Snotlout asked.

"Hello! That's when you get the best prices." Ruff said.

"Ruff is an excellent shopper." Tuff agreed.

"Uhuh," She said proudly.

"She actually got both our outfits, two for the price of one."

"No one's surprised by that." Snotlout told them.

"Where would the Dragon Hunters be going that would need heavy weather gear this time of year? Did Johann hear anything else?" Hiccup asked.

"They needed the gear right away. And they were after something rare. A bone or a claw..." Arrow explained.

"Or maybe a tooth?" Hiccup added.

"The Snow Wraith! Of course! The Dragon Hunters are after the Snow Wraith to get one of its teeth." Fishlegs concluded.

"Yeah, good luck with that. We barely got out of there alive." Tuff commented.

"The Dragon Eye used to belong to the Hunters. They must know they need a Snow Wraith tooth to make it work." Hiccup said.

"Who cares? All it means is that they aren't coming our way." Snotlout added, clearly not thinking it through yet again.

"Which means, if they do get their own key, they'll be coming for us next." Hiccup finished.

"Exactly, and that only leaves us with so many options here. Knowing you though, I think I know which one we're going for." You added.

"Please, tell me you're not thinking what I think you're thinking," Arrow said.

"Oh, he's thinking," Ruffnut commented.

"That's definitely his thinking face." Her brother agreed.

"We can't let that happen. Get a good night's sleep, gang. We leave for Glacier Island at first light." Hiccup decided. The decision was made, so you went along with it.

Toothless bounded after Hiccup as they headed to their hut. You wanted to talk to him, so you followed him after telling Nightshade to go to the hut and wait for you. You wanted it to be alone.

You waited until Toothless bounded into the hut to catch Hiccup. Once the dragon was inside, you grabbed his arm and pulled him aside. He yelped in surprise, but you silenced him with your other hand.

"Just me, Hiccup." He calmed down as you took your hand away.

"(Y/n)? What's wrong?" He asked.

"I just wanted to talk to you."

"Oh. Well, okay. What is it?" He asked.

"I know things have been stressful with Ryker and the hunters lately, so I wanted to check on you." He smiled a little.

"Hey, I'm perfectly fine. Things have been stressful for both of us." He told you, taking your hands in his own. You looked away, trying to hide the disappointment and embarrassment you now felt.

"I...I just wanted to see." He hugged you.

"Thank you, (Y/n). You're the greatest friend I could have. I'm lucky to have you looking out for me." You smiled, hugging back.

"I could say the same to you." He chuckled.

"I know. I'll always have your back, okay? I promise." You smiled.

"I already knew you would." He smiled.

"Come on, you should head back to your hut. You need rest too." You nodded.

"See you later," You began as you began to head to your hut. You flashed him a final smile. "first thing in the morning, right?" He smiled warmly at you.

"Goodnight, (Y/n)."

"Night, Hiccup."

*The next day*

You flew next to Hiccup on Nightshade. You remained silent as the others talked. You still felt slightly homesick. Hiccup must've noticed this. You missed your brothers, which he already knew, but you'd never been away from them so long.

"Hey, you good there, (Y/n)?" You looked up and over at him, surprised by his voice.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Sorry, just lost in thought. This isn't exactly the safest idea. What if their on top of us before we can figure out how we're even going to move them to another island?"

"We'll be fine. It'll be difficult, but it's not impossible." He replied. You were glad he took the bait. You soon arrived a Glacier Island and Toothless began using his call to try and locate the Snow Wraith. It turned up with nothing. You thought about it. Why wouldn't it be on top of us by now? It was before... The twins interrupted your thoughts.

"This is summer on Glacier Island? No wonder they don't get any tourists." Ruffnut said.

"What would their slogan be? 'If the Snow Wraith doesn't kill you, the weather will'." Tuff replied.

"Hey, that's a good slogan." Ruff agreed.

"That's a terrible slogan. But the good news is, if we run into any Dragon Hunters, they won't have much luck with those dragon root arrows in this weather." Hiccup said.

"And the bad news is..." Snotlout said. The twins were wrapped around him and you all were very confused by this.

"What are you doing?"

"It's called body heat management," Ruffnut replied.

"Also known as the Thorston sandwich, served cold," Tuff added.

"That's horrifying." Hiccup commented.

"Just be glad they're wrapped around somebody else." You said next to him.

"Okay. Why don't you guys set up camp? Arrow and I will scout the island." Hiccup told them.

"Gladly. Come on. Let go!" Snotlout said, struggling to get the twins off of him.

"No, we're saving your life!" Ruff told him.

"I don't care!" He said, forcing them off. "I'm outta here!"

"I can't believe he'd rather freeze to death than be hugged by us," Ruffnut commented.

"I blame you. You're clingy." Tuff told her.

"I am not! You're clingy." She defended. You sighed.

"Hiccup, I think the others will be fine here. I'll help you both scout too." You said.

"No. Two is enough. I need you here to make sure the twins don't burn anything and to help the others if the Snow Wraith finds our camp."

"You act like we're the least trustworthy people in the world!" Ruff said.

"Well, you do like blowing things up." You commented.

"This is true." Tuff agreed.

"Just trust me. We'll be fine." Hiccup said. You looked into his eyes and sighed, not having it in you to argue with him on it. You didn't want to cause any problems and he was probably right.

"Fine, but you owe me."

"Deal." He agreed. He got on Toothless and they took off as Arrow and Stormfly followed after him. After about ten minutes of helping Snotlout set up the tents, Hiccup returned...alone.

"Wow! You got the tents up fast." He commented.

"I had to! It was the only way to keep out of that Thorston sandwich." Snotlout said gesturing to Fishlegs who was now wrapped up in the twins.

"Where's Arrow?" Fishlegs asked.

"We got separated in the storm."

"Heh. He ditched you?" Snotlout asked.

"What? No. Why would he do that?" Hiccup asked.

"Arrow or no Arrow, I'm sure he will be fine. Come on, let's hunker down while we wait for them to get back. It'll get cold fast if we're not moving, so, as weird as that sandwich thing is, sticking closer for body heat is a good idea.

"Ha! We told you! Thorston sandwich for the win!" Tuff said.

"Yeah!" Ruff agreed as the two head-butted helmets. Snotlout came up beside you.

"You know, (Y/n), I bet you'd stay the warmest if we sat in my tent together." You rolled your eyes.

"Have Hookfang light you on fire. That should keep you warm enough without me, right?" You said with a grin. You heard Hiccup snort, trying not to laugh and you smiled at him.

"Well then." Snotlout said as you walked away from him. You took Hiccup's hand.

"Come on, mine's the warmest."

"How?" He asked.

"You'll see." You replied and lead him to yours. You had taken the time to dig out a square pit of snow in the ground. You hopped down into it and Hiccup followed. "Less breeze, more cover, and more contained. Overall, it's warmer." You explained. You laid down.

"Uh, (Y/n)?"

"I don't bite, dummy. Come on. We'd better save our energy too. We don't have too much on us for food supplies. The tents took most of the space." He nodded and laid down on his side next to you.

"So, uh...this is...cozy." You saw how hard he was trying to not make this awkward. You chuckled.

"Relax. It's not weird. You need to chill out." Hiccup groaned at your joke.

"Oh my gods, you didn't."

"I'm funny and you know it." You teased. He chuckled, looking into your eyes with joy glimmering in his own. He took your hand in his and you blushed slightly.

"Are you sure this is alright?" He asked. You smiled. You wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him closer. Your breaths mixed together, the puffs making it obvious and easy to see.

"Hiccup, aside from my family, you are the single closest person in the world to me. I trust you with anything. You've been my friend for a while now and we shared something the others didn't right from the start. We have the same heart toward the dragons and we have the same spirit. Why do you think I wanted to be your friend. I could see it in you when nobody else could. I always believed in you and I always will. Besides...you know I can be touchy." He smiled.

"Thank you, (Y/n). You really are the greatest friend I could have."

"Be careful, Hiccup. You don't want Toothless hearing that." Hiccup chuckled.

"Human friend, how about that?" You giggled.

"I'll take it."

Later, Arrow came back and told you all about a cave up on a plateau he'd seen. You all agreed to go check it out now that the storm had cleared up. You mounted Nightshade and she knew what to do. She began to climb ahead, using her single claws to mark the safest climbing trail for the others.

As you were working to mark the trail, Nightshade stepped on a spot with loose snow and slipped. You shrieked and she began to slide fast with the snow. She flapped her wings, steadying herself quickly, her other good-footed claws keeping her up as well.

"(Y/n)! You two okay!?" Hiccup called.

"We're good! There's a sinkhole up here! Watch your step, everybody! There could be more!" You called back.

"We're right behind you," Arrow called and you all kept going. Soon, you made it to the top. Almost instantly, you heard a noise.

"So much for your hibernation theory." Snotlout commented to Arrow.

"Shhh!" Hiccup silenced him quickly. "Toothless, make the first shot count." Toothless got ready to fire, but boars ran out instead. Fishlegs shouted and they ran away in fear. You all kept going until you spotted a cave.

"There it is. I'll go check it out." Arrow said.

"We'll all go check it out." Hiccup insisted and you went into the mouth of the cave together. Claw marks were on the walls. Hiccup got off of Toothless to examine them. "Look at these claw marks. I'd say we found the right cave."

"It's nice. It's no boar pit. But it's nice." Tuff commented.

"All right. Let's take it slowly and quietly. Snotlout, get the Nightmare gel out." Hiccup instructed. As you got to work, Toothless and Nightshade began to growl. You grew alarmed.

"What's wrong, bud?" Hiccup asked his dragon. You heard a faint scraping sound.

"Was that..." Arrow turned. Hiccup saw it too.

"Behind us!" Arrows fired, but Toothless shot under him through his legs. "Everybody down!" Hiccup shouted.

"Spine shot!" Arrow ordered Stormfly.

"Nightshade, tail slice defensive!" While Stormfly's spines drove them off, Nightshade cut the rest of the incoming Arrows in half with her tail blades, protecting you all from the last of the attack. You sighed in relief. "Good girl."

"Everybody alright?" Hiccup asked.

"Good here," Arrow said.

"I'm fine." You agreed.

"Well, I'm not dead, so that's something." Snotlout added. Suddenly, more men rushed in. You glared at them.

"Nightshade! Tailwhip!" She swung her tail quickly, sending two of them flying back. Then, she bucked her hind legs, sending the last two flying back as well. "Spread shot!" She fired three blasts and blew the snow back toward them as well, separating the vision between both groups as well.

"You two been practicing or something?" Hiccup asked.

"Never too old to learn a new trick." You replied.

"And we're not even old!" Tuff commented with a grin.

"What do you think Ryker's next move is?" Fishlegs asked.

"Surrender?" Ruff commented.

"Or I guess he could do that," Fishlegs said as Ryker came to the mouth of the cave.

"Dragon Riders! Send out your leader to talk."

"Well, that's trustworthy." You said sarcastically.

"It's gotta be a trap. I should go out. See what their game is." Arrow said.

"Yeah, let Arrow go." Snotlout agreed, not wanting to go out there himself.

"Hiccup Haddock! Let's talk this out, like men." Ryker said, smashing his weapon into the ice.

"Oh! I don't like the sound of that." Fishlegs said, clearly nervous.

"If there's one chance to settle this without bloodshed, I have to try." He began to head out, but Toothless tried to go with him. "No, bud. If this is a trap, I may need you to get me out of it."

"Word of advice, open with a compliment," Tuff said.

"Hiccup," He turned to you. "Be wary of him. I know a wolf when I see one." He nodded and kept going. You listened carefully as the two spoke.

"Hmm. Dagur was right. You don't look like much." Ryker said.

"Arrow was right. You look like a psycho." Hiccup shot back.

"Not exactly the compliment I would have led with," Tuff said.

"Shh!" You hushed him.

"What do you want, Ryker?" Hiccup asked.

"The Dragon Eye."

"Not a chance."

"It belongs to us, the Hunters. You stole it from our ship. And I will have it back."

"Not today, you won't."

"Oh, no? Look around. We're in front of you. The Snow Wraith is behind you. One time offer. Hand over the Dragon Eye and you're free to go." You heard Nightshade growl. You pet her, calming her down.

"Easy girl, not yet."

"Hm. Uh, sorry. I must have left it in my other pants." Hiccup commented.

"In that case, surrender and you won't meet the same fate as your dragons." To hell with you if you touch any of them, creep.

"Okay, here's my offer. Leave now and your men won't have to find out what burning flesh smells like." Hiccup replied.

"You really don't have the Dragon Eye with you?" Ryker asked.

"No."

"And, you aren't coming out?"

"Not any time soon." Ryker hummed slightly.

"Don't say I didn't give you a chance." Suddenly, a lamp knocked over and you heard a shout from one of his men.

"Gah! My eyes!" You gasped as you saw the shadow of one of his men on the wall.

"HICCUP!" You shouted.

"Hiccup, it's a trap!" Arrow exclaimed. The fight broke out as Hiccup quickly got his shield back into his hand to protect himself.

"GET BACK, SCUM!" You shouted. "Nightshade!" She roared and fired three blinding shots before charging. You quickly snatched Hiccup by his arm and yanked him onto her back as she swung her tail around, hitting three hunters hard with her club tail. She darted back and the others finished fighting off the rest. Suddenly, Windsheer fired the roof of the cave and it caved in the mouth. Nightshade quickly yanked you off her back and shielded you. Toothless was already over Hiccup.

"Ugh! Is everyone all right?" Hiccup called as Toothless lit the area a bit more with his fire.

"Define 'all right'," Fishlegs replied.

"Why would Ryker seal himself off from the key?" Snotlout asked.

"He wasn't sealing himself out. He was sealing us in." Arrow explained.

"Arrow's right. Ryker figures we'll fight the Snow Wraith for him and then he'll come in and deal with whoever survives." Hiccup concluded.

"Awesome. But we're not gonna do that, right?" Snotlout asked.

"The plan hasn't changed. We grab the Snow Wraith and get it out of here away from Ryker." Hiccup said, mounting Toothless again.

"Oh, is that all we have to do? So easy." Snotlout groaned.

"I choose to think positive. We can do this!" Tuff said.

"Sure. We beat the Snow Wraith before! Sort of." Ruff added.

"And it won't have a blizzard to hide in." Fishlegs pointed out.

"And we outnumber him six to one," Tuff said. Then, you spotted three Snow Wraiths sleeping together.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Arrow said, clearly unhappy that there were more of them.

"Well, at least they're still asleep, and they won't wake up," Tuff said, but then, one of them began to stir.

"You are the worst positive thinker ever," Ruff told him.

"That's a very positive thing to say." He replied. You all held still. "If we don't move, maybe it won't notice us." It woke up and roared at you all. You